Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The video for "Until the End of Time" [from our soon-to-be-released CD Trio] is now on YouTube!

Special thanks to Gusty and the guys at MohrFire Studios, and SWaT Productions for an excellent video production. Also thanks to the The D-Note, the Buffalo Rose, and the Laughing Goat for letting us film the live shots. Check it out now: http://www.ironwoodrain.com/Or go to YouTube and search for "Ironwood Rain". There you will see an interview video as well.

The tentative date for the official Trio CD release party is November 20 at the D-Note. The CDs should be available for sale by then. Stay tuned for more updates.

The whole experience - from putting the music together, to recording the CD, to playing live, to making the video - has exceeded my expectations.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

• 40 years experience studying, composing, arranging and performing music.• 25 years experience teaching music: all styles, including rock, jazz, classical, and various genres of folk.

Through many years of being an instructor at schools, music stores, studios, and privately, I have learned that teaching is an art form, and that each student has unique strengths, needs and desires to be fulfilled.

Education:• Began studying formal theory and classical fingerstyle with Ron Herdt at age 8.• 6 years jazz, classical, folk, rock, and contemporary guitar with Gordon Close.• 7 years classical and jazz theory and harmony with Bill Alexander.• 4 years jazz guitar technique, theory, and harmony with Dale Bruning.• 4 years Dixieland and ragtime tenor banjo with Herman Hoffschulte.Experience:• Big band jazz, blues, Dixieland, and orchestra from age 10 to 18, traveling extensively throughout Colorado.• Performed at Disneyland at age 13.• Performed at the Presidential Inaugural Parade at age 17.• Playing regular professional gigs by age 13.• Performed for crowds of up to 10,000 people.

Over the years, I have performed and recorded in a variety of groups and styles, including:

Stiffwater – (Guitar, vocals, keyboards)Original rock music.The original song ‘Fool’ was featured on the KPKE "Colorado Rocks" album and subsequent "Earth Tour" concert tour, including performances at the Ogden Theater and the Boulder Theater.

Sidewinder – (Guitar)Blues and rock covers. The forerunner to the legendary Stiffwater.

He has done over a thousand professional portraits and over 12,000 professional caricatures, for collectors from every continent on earth.

Mike has an Associates degree in Commercial Art. He received formal training in figure and portraiture in the Aristides Classical Atelier, at the Gage Academy of Fine Art in Seattle.

His art has received numerous honors, including a purchase award nomination in 2004 from the Art Renewal Center in New York, and has appeared in articles in The Artist’s Magazine, and the book Classical Drawing Atelier by Juliette Aristides.
Mike teaches classes and workshops in the Denver area.

Mike plays guitar and sings with various musical acts in Denver and across the country.